POST #1: Introductions and Sharing Your Past Experience

I work in the Marshalltown Community School district at the elementary level.  I am a level II strategist and serve individuals in a special education setting. I have been working with the AEA getting my students various assistive tech devices and all of our 3rd/4th students have access to chrome books.
   
My past experience with the Iowa AEA Online resources, prior to taking the self-paced course, has been very minimal.  I was aware of its existence, given a password every year and promptly forgot about it. I did nothing with the resources available because I didn't know how or what it really was.  I have taken online mandatory trainings and utilize Tumble books with my students. Otherwise I have used internet searches to find information to supplement my lessons.  I am very excited to explore the various resources available.
My own children have also had access to the resources available and have had more experience with some of the available resources. Sadly, my eleven year old was very instrumental in helping me learn how to maneuver Bookflix and Trueflix.
 
 I have a personnel desire to learn how to better use the technology available to me.  I wish to increase my student's understanding of the world around them; utilize other resources to will help with assistive technology options being explored, and improve my teaching modes to further student learning.  The students accessibility to technology increases, I need to know what is safely available to them.  As the special needs of my students presents a need to have alternate means to get that information to them, I need to have a better understanding of what is available.
From a parenting point of view, I wish to be able to help my own children with their education.  I believe  I have a better understanding of some of the resources available to me and intend to continue my exploration of the resources to help my children in their academic careers.

I have been a math teacher for 26 years, primarily at West Delaware High School, in Manchester, Iowa. Although I knew these resources were available, I didn't realize their scope or the vast amount of information and possibilities.  I have not used any of the resources in the past, but am excited to now have enough knowledge to put them to use.  I was interested in this course because I knew these resources were available and I was not taking advantage of them.  I teach several sections of a statistics course each school year and have recently incorporated 2 projects into the course.  Students do research and create projects that display different types of graphs, charts, and statistical results.  Students also present their work through slide shows or videos.  Several of the resources presented in this course will be very valuable for students while completing their projects.  I am transitioning into a position as an instructional coach for the coming school year.  I will be working with teachers from grades 7 through 12 in a variety of curricular areas.  I know that some of them already use many of these resources and others could benefit from their use.  I now feel I have enough knowledge to work with these teachers and their students.

     I have over 25 years of experience with teaching elementary students in rural Iowa.  I currently teach Kindergarten (HURRAY for KINDERGARTEN!!!!) but I have also been a 2nd grade teacher earlier in my career.  I have a self-contained classroom of anywhere from 17 - 24 students per year, with about one-third of our population being considered ELL students.  
     Before the online course, I have been introduced to IOWA ONLINE resources through many types of in-services.  Our technology coordinator did his best to encourage each grade level to utilize this wealth of resources, but with the time restraints of teaching lower elementary students, I haven't taken advantage of this in the past.  I seemed to be a bit confused about which password to use where and in my opinion, you need TIME (lots of time!) to really dig into each resource to see how and why you can use this in the Kindergarten classroom.   I always felt it was just easier to search through Google and book mark it myself!  Through this self-paced course, I was able to do the necessary "digging" and find treasures for my five and six year olds.   We have used Book Flix for a few years in our classrooms, but I am particularly excited to use teachingbooks.net (IPADS AND BOOKS) in place of my existing listening center (headphones, cords, cassette tapes, books) hoping this will streamline the process and make it easier for students to be independent!  
     I needed to learn about Smart Board Technologies, so I asked a friend and she suggested I try Atomic Learning first!  I stumbled upon this course in late July and have been working online feverishly to complete it.  I only wish I had taken this course 10- 15 years ago!   It would have been a great resource for my own family/children to use with their homework.   I intend to try to get as many parents and families excited to begin using IOWA ONLINE AEA RESOURCES as I can this year!

I am currently a high school art teacher in the Sergeant Bluff-Luton Community School District.  I teach grades 9-12 in drawing, painting pottery and sculpture as well as a few College Now classes through Western Iowa Technical Community College.  I have also served as the head coach for girls track and field for the last 15 years.  I have had very limited use of AEA online services as an educator in Iowa (spent 5 years in Nebraska) and have generally found resources outside of the AEA online resources for use in my class room.  I took this course to inform myself of the many resources that AEA online offers as I've only had limited exposure to them.  To me the information was invaluable and I found myself wondering why I hadn't used these resources before.  I plan to use several of the databases in the upcoming school year.

How interesting to be teaching in a one-room classroom. Availability and speed of the Internet is crucial to enjoying the online resources. I assist home schooled families, and the families vary from being tech savvy to no Internet or television. Many who can't access the online resources still enjoy borrowing books and dvds from the lending library.

1} I taught first grade for three years back in the day of filmstrips and projectors. This will be my 26th year of supervising home schooled students. I also home schooled my children for 16 years. This year we have close to 100 students in our home school assistance program.

2} I have always enjoyed using the AEA as a teacher and a home school mother. We have borrowed books, dvds, and streamed quite a few videos. I have never done a lot with the online databases. I like the way the resources are growing and changing, just like technology. I can hardly wait to share my new knowledge with the home school families I serve.

3} This is the second self-paced class I have taken, and I like learning in the comfort of my home. I enjoy being able to stop and explore something thoroughly, or skimming over information that is familiar to me. I love learning new things, especially when they will be beneficial to me in my job. And of course, I am motivated because I need credits for my re-certification!

I have been working in Southeast Polk & Des Moines School Districts Since 2005 sometimes as a permanent substitute in Art & Family Consumer Sciences & just as a Substitute. Also, I have been working full time as a Driver's Ed. Teacher for Teen Driver Inc. My Background is Art. But, I have really enjoyed Subbing at Scavo High School in Des Moines. Encouraging Students to do their best in this alternative environment is a real joy to me. Helping them improve on their responsibility skills.  Seeing the Change in the students and the achievements of their long awaited goal of graduating High School. As well as, seeing students Move on to achieve their Life Goals of Higher education or the success of a Job they will improve their lives with.
     My past experience with AEA Resources was a slower process and required a well organized lesson plan and pre-ordering skills ahead of time in order to use the resource on time. That is what made me want to take this course, because it had been quite some time since I have last used AEA Resources and I was interested in what was new. Also, I felt I needed to update my knowledge of the system to better help the teachers and students I am subbing for. I am glad I have taken this course and would recommend it to anyone else that is interested in taking it. I have learned a lot and my how technology has changed things for the betterment of our children and for educators.

This is my 21st year as a classroom teacher. This year I am teaching 8th & 9th grade science. I have taken a few other classes from AEA ( Digital Citizenship and Social Media). I liked the self-paced on-line format and I found the information very interesting and useful in the classroom and as a parent of teenagers. I choose this AEA course for the self-paced and online format and the opportunity to explore the various on-line resources offered by AEA. I had used some of the resources before but this course has given me a detailed overview and introduced me to new sources that I will definitely fine useful in the classroom.

I have taught k-3 grades, teaching 3rd grade for the last 6 years. I love this grade level as they are so much more independent. I am in the Indianola school district. My past experience with the services AEA has to offer is quite slim, the occasional classroom movie and professional development, including mandatory training. The deciding factor in taking this particular pd class was the fact that I could tap into the resources offered to assist me, and my colleagues, with the current changes in education knocking at our door. Our district has recently adopted AIW and GRR. Both of which I find outstanding "programs" to implement. With GRR, Gradual Release of Responsibility, AEA offers many ideas, teaching support, and resources for this kind of learning/teaching. I came across so many opportunities to plug in GRR and AIW with the teaching/learning resources offered through AEA. There are so many resources offered, I actually find myself excited to start the new school year, just to use them! :)

I was hired recently in a .25 position for 4th and 5th grade vocal music in Southwest Iowa.  I have been out of the classroom for 7 years as I had the wonderful opportunity to stay home with my daughter for most of that time (in technology years, that is equal to about 21 years :).  

I have 'zero' experience with the AEA on-line resources prior to this self-paced course, and having been away from the classroom for some time, I wanted my first course to be informational on where to find resources to help enhance my classroom teaching.  

As I looked through the self-paced courses, this one caught my interest because I knew it would help me become familiar with some of the available resources and how to apply then in my classroom.

I have been in the field of teaching for 25 years.  Most of my experience has been at the Pre-K through First grade levels.  This is my second year as the resource teacher in our school.  I see children who need a little extra help primarily in reading.  I have students in grades Kindergarten through 5th grade.  I also teach a small section of 6th graders for Reading and Writing.  

I don't have a lot of experience using the AEA online resources.  As a 1st grade teacher I did use a couple of different things.  We would focus on a certain author for a month at a time.  It was great to order a box of books by that author and have them in the room for the children to read during free time.  I enjoyed the ease of ordering online and having them delivered and picked up.  I would also frequently use BookFlix at the end of the day.  The class always enjoyed these books.

This is my first experience with taking a class online.  I appreciate being able to receive credit and have found this class helpful.  I also hope to use online resources with my 6th grade class.  They do a research paper later in the year and I am sure that many of the resources available will help them gather information for their projects.  

I currently am a substitute teacher in the Cedar Falls area and am looking to get back into a full-time job with my own classroom.  I originally taught social studies at Turkey Valley for 12 years.  While teaching I used the SIRS Issue researcher and Culture Grams a lot in my classrooms with my students.  I had great luck using both of those, but I wanted to delve more into them to see if there was some things I might have been missing that I could use in the future.  I found that by taking this course.  I also wanted to investigate some of the other resources the AEA has to offer to see if I might be able to incorporate their uses into my classroom as well that might be a huge benefit for my students.  As a substitute I have encountered the use of some of these resources by other teachers.  As a result, I thought it might be good to get some background, so I can be better prepared as a sub in case a teacher may want me to use some of these resources in his or hers classroom.  

I currently serve as principal at a Catholic middle school in Cedar Rapids.  This is my fifth year in this position, and prior to this I served as an assistant principal in a high school and as a social studies teacher before that.  

My past experience with AEA Online Resources has predominately been in my role as a teacher and at the start of each year.  I recall a big push at the beginning of each year to get information to our students regarding their access to the AEA Online Resources, but it always seemed like by about December, our students gravitated back to simply using Google or Wikipedia as sources of information.  

This course has been a great refresher for me in my role as an administrator and throughout this course, I have found that I bookmarked good resources.  In addition, I spent a lot of time taking my new learning and re-distributing it to the varying groups that I felt would benefit from it.  For example, in learning more about Learn360, I sent the information on to our Tech Director to share with our instructors.  In learning more about Teachingbooks.net, I sent that info on to our LA teachers.  This has been a great way to use this information and get the tools in the hands of our instructors.  

This is my 12th year of teaching in the Essex Community School District.  I have held the positions of Title 1 Reading, Second Grade, and now First Grade teacher.  I have always used the AEA online in different capacities.  Every year, I take the Blood Borne Pathogen course, regularly take the Mandatory Reporter class, registering for various workshops through the years, have used the AEA in for Learn 360, Book Flix, and ordering numerous resources through the on-line site.  I am in need of renewal credits for my license and need the ease of on-line classes.  Though I have used the AEA on-line for many years, it is good for me to get a refresher course of all that is available.  I had forgotten many of the items offered.  I appreciate the offer of this course.

I am a 3rd Grade Elementary Teacher. I work at the new Morningside Elementary STEM School for the Sioux City Community Schools.  I have been teaching 3rd Grade for 12 years and I also taught 2nd Grade for 2 years.
I have very little experience utilizing the Iowa AEA Online resources prior to this class.  I have only used it for taking classes and for renewing my license.

I have always been curious about these resources when our media specialist hands us our access and password information.  The TAG Dept. also talks to us about all the resources that AEA offers.  To be honest – I was just wanting an excuse to give myself to take the time to look at them. This is exactly what I needed.

I currently work for a Third Party Administrator, which administers claims and benefits on behalf of our clients.  I am a Training Manager that oversees a team of six trainers responsible for the onboarding and training our new colleagues within our call centers.  Previously I was an 8th grade Math teacher in the Dubuque school district.

Prior to this, I did not have any experience with online Iowa AEA resources.

I am always looking for classes for continuing education that I can apply not only to the renewal of my teaching license but can apply in my current line of work.  As my company moves further into virtual training environments the use of multi-media will be critical for our instruction to allow our colleagues to interact with the training material.  Also, the information on Copyright was extremely beneficial as we write our own curriculum and develop our own materials which often involves reference to online and print resources.

I am currently a third grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary in Sioux City, Iowa.  This is my ninth year teaching this grade level at Lincoln Elementary. Prior to this, I taught third grade for five years and special education for two years at Leeds Elementary in Sioux City.

I have not had a lot of past experience with AEA online. My students have used it for research a few times with our school librarian. I have used bookflix with some of my students during small group in reading. They enjoy this educational feature!

I have been wanting to use this feature on a more regular basis for some time. I have been impressed with the few features I have used. Once I saw this listed as a course option, I was interested in how to better navigate the AEA online resources.  This definitely was a great help and will be used as an additional resource within my classroom.

I am a substitute teacher currently working in the West Des Moines and Urbandale school districts. I have subbed at the middle school/junior high level and for high school students.

I received my substitute teaching authorizatiion through the Johnston AEA.  I attended the classes in person and then took online classess to satisfy the additional classes and teaching credentials needed to obtain my license. This was my only interaction with the AEA.

I selected this course as technology is ever changing and so vast. As a sub, when you  walk into a classroom, a teacher has left you notes which usually involves some type of technology process. I want to be well prepared and knowledgeable for both the teacher giving me the assignment as well as being proficient for the students. I felt this course would help me be better prepard and aware of all of the different options available.

I have always said that I wanted to be either a teacher or a fireman. I have completed 23 years on the Davenport Iowa fire department. Three years ago I completed my substitute teacher certification and have had the enjoyment of realizing, to some extent, my second career choice. I find that my  background in firefighting helps me to understand the many personalities of a classroom and gives me some insight as to the variety of social differences within each community. Davenport is a full time fire department and we work 24 hour shifts. We respond to all 911 calls ranging from medical to hazardous material and yes the occasional fire.
My spare time, I have five children, is mostly in the evenings and the self paced course allows me the opportunity to use my time in the most efficient manner for me. I also finished the last few courses of my bachelors in the same general format which was also a life saver. Lastly, as I mentioned, with five children who doesn't need to be as computer savvy as possible. Any resources that are available to enhance a lesson are a bonus for all involved.

I am Director and lead preschool teacher for Redeemer Lutheran Preschool and Day Care. I have been employed there for 19 years. We run a full child care program 12 months a year and the preschool program follows the school year.  We work with both the Department of Human Services and Department of Education.
I have only used the on-line AEA resources for the Mandatory reporting course. With my busy schedule, I really liked the ability to access it at my convenience. And the ease of finding what I need is a plus.  
I am interested in being able to find new ways of using on-line ideas for my preschoolers. The Learn 360 is a big interest to me.  I also need to earn licensure credits.